Flic the true story of the journalist who infiltrated the police
Produktdetaljer
Om bidragsyterne
Born in 1988, Valentin Gendrot worked on local newspapers and radio after graduating from journalism college, and carried out several undercover investigations — including working on a Toyota production line and in a Lidl supermarket — before joining the Paris police force. Frank Wynne is an Irish literary translator, writer, and editor. He has translated numerous French and Hispanic authors including Michel Houellebecq, Patrick Modiano, Javier Cercas, and Virginie Despentes. Over a career spanning more than twenty years, his work has earned him the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, and he was twice awarded both the Scott Moncrieff Prize and the Premio Valle Inclán. Most recently, his translation of Animalia by Jean-Baptiste del Amo won the 2020 Republic of Consciousness Prize. He has edited two major anthologies, Found in Translation: 100 of the finest short stories ever translated (2018) and QUEER: LGBT writing from ancient times to yesterday (2021). Thierry Chavant is the artistic director of the Nouvel Eldorado ad agency. He has been illustrating comics since 2005.<p>‘In his intimate and revealing inside look at France’s police culture, journalist Valentin Gendrot depicts his two year undercover investigation. Juxtaposed with playful feline illustrations, this shocking exposé is as relevant as ever.’</p>
- <i>New York Public Library</i>, ‘NYPL Recommends: Best New Comics for Adults’,
<p>‘I am a criminologist, and <em>Flic</em> is as effective and nuanced a depiction of policing as I have encountered. That it is presented in cartoon form, with all the characters depicted as cats — well, it shouldn’t work, but it does.’</p>
- Richard Evans, Inside Story
<p>‘What [Gendrot] depicts is a world of nihilistic cynicism. Stewing in racist invective and anti-bureaucratic rage at the mountains of paperwork they are buried under, Gendrot’s fellow officers come across as frustrated and thwarted. They take that anger out on usually defenseless immigrants. While Gendrot depicts many potent scenes of vindictive violence — at one point, he witnesses cops pummeling a teenager with all the vicious senselessness of a scene out of <i>A Clockwork Orange</i> — he also digs into the policing institution’s sad state of logistical affairs. After one officer kills himself, Gendrot delves into the sense of helplessness that leads so many other police to do the same (51 in 2017). The work builds into an empathetic chronicle of human suffering, with Gendrot emerging more mystified more than outraged. It’s a thought-provoking affront to any reader looking for simple solutions.’</p>
Publishers Weekly
<p>‘An explosive new book by an investigative journalist has drawn fresh attention to police brutality and racism in France … Chronicles the author’s training and the six months he spent as a police officer in one of Paris’ poorest districts … its vivid portrayal underlines how France’s history of racism and present-day police tactics have remained relatively unexamined.’</p>
- Matt Bradley, NBC News
<p>‘A journalist who spent almost six months undercover in a Paris police force witnessed racism, almost daily violence, and a culture of impunity for officers who mistreated civilians … The book’s release follows a period of increased criticism of police in France.’</p>
- Jamie Clifton, Vice
<p>‘A remarkable coup … True crime doesn't get more real than this.’</p>
- Mark Sanderson, Crime Club
flic
(French noun, slang)
cop; police officer
Flic
(noun)
The gripping and groundbreaking work of French comics journalism.
What happens behind the walls of a police station? What kind of living does a cop make? And how does a culture of racism and violence become entrenched? Valentin Gendrot went undercover in Paris to find the answers — revelations that rocked France and led to a series of investigations, including an internal affairs case on Gendrot himself.
Flic is an exposé of a world never before seen by outsiders, an urgent story for our times, powerfully illustrated by the talented Thierry Chavant.